Helen is President & CEO of Delaware BioScience Association (Delaware Bio), which brings together pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, medical device manufacturers, agricultural biotech and chemical companies, research and testing companies, hospitals and medical institutions, and other organizations and related service companies, with the shared goal of expanding Delaware’s vibrant science economy. Previously, she was the Vice President and General Manager of the Chemistries and Supplies Division at Agilent Technologies where she was responsible for development, direction, strategy and P&L for the $500M division headquartered in Delaware.
Helen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Lafayette College and has completed many programs in on-going Executive Education at Kellogg, Columbia and Wharton Business Schools. She chairs the external advisory council for the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and she is a newly appointed member of the College of Engineering Advisory Council and UD’s Biopharmaceutical Innovation Board.
Helen has been a champion in the development of the College’s strategic plan and committed to enriching the culture and climate in the college to drive innovation through high-performance teams. She also is a generous benefactor, having created the first faculty award in BME, named after her father Bernard Canavan, to help us recruit, reward and retain our world class faculty.